Administrative staffing across campus is being streamlined and/or adjusted to reflect enrolment changes, centralization of services, enhanced use of technology, and other efficiency changes.
The changes are part of the University’s broader efforts to enhance efficiency and reduce expenses in response to substantial financial pressures affecting the higher education sector.
The changes affect 75 positions in Unifor 2458 full- and part-time office and clerical staff groups, including 17 vacant positions. Campuswide, 27 new positions are being created, which means a net reduction of 48 Unifor 2458 positionss.
The associated layoffs and bumping process will begin immediately, with Human Resources providing various supports for affected staff members as they transition.
FAHSS is creating a new central secretarial pool, adjusting support levels to reflect current enrolment and to prioritize students and the efficient use of staff/resources.
As part of its budget balancing efforts, the University has engaged several external consultants to review operations and help identify efficiencies, as they provide an objective perspective. This is a common practice in the higher education sector, as well as others. However, all decisions were made by University administrators with a focus on aligning with the institution's core mission, strategic priorities, and long-term viability.
All faculties will be adjusting staffing levels to reflect enrolment and centralized service changes and enhanced use of technology.
Non-faculty units are looking to standardize an administrative support framework, streamlining job functions and implementing shared administrative support roles for enhanced efficiency. For example, the president and all vice presidents now share administrative assistants rather than each having individual administrative support.